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ODOT Takes Steps to Curb Wrong Way Crashes

photo of a wrong way sign
Ohio Department of Transportation
The Ohio Department of Transportation is piloting technology in the Cincinnati area with the goal of preventing crashes as a result of motorists driving the wrong way.

The Ohio Department of Transportation is testing new technology aimed at stopping wrong-way crashes on the highway. Signs and detectors are being installed along an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 71 near Cincinnati.

ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning said the goal is to prevent wrong-way crashes.

“While they are extremely rare, they are usually very serious crashes that happen. So we know they are 40 times more likely to be deadly than other types of crashes,” he said.

Bruning said the $1.2 million system includes 82 detection devices at 23 locations, including the on and off ramps. When drivers attempt to drive the wrong way there, they will see red lights and a message on a sign alerting them.

If they proceed, the sensors will alert law enforcement immediately. Bruning said technology will be monitored for effectiveness, and if it is successful, it could be implemented throughout the state in the future.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.